And as a native of Brazil who is now a U.S. citizen living on Cape Cod, Daniel Prado closely followed Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's first visit to America this week.

He's heard the buzz about some Brazilian officials who felt dissed by the Obama administration laying out the red carpet for British Prime Minister David Cameron three weeks ago, while Rousseff's three-day visit got the unexpected-visit-from-a-distant-cousin treatment (a working lunch meeting with business leaders).

Yes, it's true, Prado said, the "special relationship" between the U.S. and the U.K. was on full display, beginning with the arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House. There was a formal state dinner, one-on-one meeting — pomp and circumstance all over. Obama even took Cameron to a college basketball game in Ohio for a bit of "March Madness."

Prado, however, doesn't think Rousseff's comparatively low-key reception is a slap in the face, or even a condescending pat on the head.

"I don't think it's disrespectful," the health and beauty product salesman told me. "She came for one thing — to boost trade. But there's a big difference between Brazil and the U.K.'s relationship to the United States. So it's understandable."

But that doesn't mean Prado — or any one else from the Cape's Brazilian community I spoke with — thinks the evolving relationship between the world's leading economy and the sixth-largest economy isn't a good one.

In many ways, the numbers speak for themselves.

Trade between Brazil and the U.S. last year was about $74 billion, with the balance tipping from a U.S. deficit to a surplus in recent years.

Sales in Brazil by majority U.S.-owned companies was $24.1 billion in 2008 (the latest data available), while sales in the U.S. by majority Brazil-owned firms was $1.1 billion.

Plus, there's all that Brazilian oil the States would love to tap — complicated no doubt by Chevron's recent oil spills off Brazil's coast, which has brought $22 billion worth of lawsuits and criminal charges against the company and its executives.

Oh, and then there's the billions to be made in building the additional infrastructure Brazil needs to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Summer Games.

At the Brazilian-owned Mayrin's Hair Salon on Main Street in Hyannis on Wednesday, Rousseff's visit was a hot topic of discussion.

For Joao Motta of Centerville, official ceremonies — including the fancy reception Rousseff got when she was welcomed to Beacon Hill by Gov. Deval Patrick on Tuesday — don't mean much without "real action."

"It's great she came," he said. And while a "special relationship" is a distant possibility, he thinks it's important to nurture a "developing partnership."

"The economy is Brazil is growing right now, but there is still a lot for Brazil to learn. Also, the biggest market in the world is here in the U.S. So Brazil needs to develop mechanisms to better penetrate that market. It's a two-way road that both countries can benefit from," Motta said, as clipped hair fell across his smock.

Relations between his native Brazil and the U.S., where Motta has lived with his family for 23 years, is complicated and goes far beyond the politically explosive issue of immigration. There are shared economic and security concerns, as well as the daunting challenges of health and education costs.

Connie Souza, an immigrant advocate with Catholic Social Services in Hyannis, agrees there's so much more to the relationship than the heated rhetoric and xenophobia strangling the immigration debate.

"It's important for people to know about the business ties, too. We do leave money here. We do open businesses and pay taxes. A lot of people think we just take, but that's not true. ... We are just trying to do our best," she said.

Everyone I spoke with was grateful for Rousseff's visit.

Ana Nogueira, who became a U.S. citizen in 2004 and is now teaching U.S. history and English to Portuguese-speaking students at Somerville High School, said Rousseff's visit "gives our community visibility. That's important at this moment because we are mostly invisible to people, except when it comes to immigration complaints. Brazil is in a very good position internationally, and that gives more hope for Brazilians here and everywhere."

Hope is what Prado holds onto.

"I'm always optimistic. You have to be. I expect the best between the two countries, even though we have a lot of work to do. Both presidents have a lot to do, so we've got to keep the doors open."